A New Kind of Mission
by Orlissa
Summary: Skye's off to her first mission since Haylie's been born, leaving Grant sort-of-alone with the four-month-old. He is sure it'll be a piece of cake, and mostly he's right - mostly. My Skyeward Secret Santa gift for the lovely little angry kitten18


**A/N:** My Skyeward Secret Santa gift for little-angry-kitten – oh, dear, you don't know what an accomplishment it is for me that I managed not to reveal myself to you! :D Anyways, I hope you'll like this little piece :) Happy holidays to everyone!  
 **Disclaimer:** [Insert funny text here that tells you I don't own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]  
 **Rating:** K  
 **Word Count:** 3549

* * *

 **A New Kind of Mission**

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Skye asked, her voice laced with concern as her gaze flitted between him and her foot as she thrusted it into her boot.

He couldn't keep the small, amused smile off his face.

"I'm sure. We'll be just fine."

"Because I can stay – Mack can take over. Coulson'd understand," she went on, seemingly not even hearing him, moving to her other shoe.

"Honestly, Skye, it's okay."

"It might be a false alarm, anyway," she continued, not even paying attention to him. "Maybe I should really stay…" she trailed off, standing up and shrugging on her jacket.

"Skye…"

"But–"

He didn't let her finish her sentence – he stepped over to her, grabbed her hand, pressed a swift kiss to her lips (effectively making her shut up), then with one quick swipe of his hand, he pulled up the zipper of her jacket.

"This mission – this initiative – is yours, through and through. And you are ready – I wouldn't let you go if you weren't. And really, I don't mind taking the bench for a bit" he smiled down at her, making even the corners of her mouth twitch. "Now go and make me proud!" And kissed her again.

He could see the decision forming in her eyes as he pulled away from her. She let her lids drop for a moment, as if she was trying to convince herself of something, then, opening her eyes again, she suddenly turned away from him, stepped to the crib standing by the wall, and lifted the baby from there, making her softly whine at being disturbed.

"Will you be a good little girl for daddy, hm?" she cooed, holding the baby close and pressing her nose against Haylie's dark wisps of hair, inhaling her scent in. "Will you?"

"We'll be just fine, I've already told you," Grant chuckled softly, stepping to them and reaching for Haylie. "Give her to me and go. The jet must be ready to take off."

Skye let out a little indignant, almost offended sound, but let him take the baby.

"But it'd be the first time you'd be completely left alone with her…" she tried to find an excuse.

"Honestly, I can handle it. And I won't be completely alone – I'll have a whole base to help," he tried to joke, and even if it was lame (and it was lame), he managed to make her smile. "Go now! You have an Inhuman to take in."

"You mean act as a welcome wagon?" she smirked up at him.

"Exactly."

Skye took one last uncertain look around the room, then let out a sigh, pushed herself to the tip of her toes, pressed a kiss first against the crown of Haylie's head, then against Grant's lips, then grabbed her tactical belt from the bed and rushed towards the door. She stopped at the threshold for one last moment, and turned back towards them.

"You both better be still in one piece when I get back!" she told them sternly, even lifting a threatening finger.

"The same goes for you, sweetheart," he answered with a smile.

Skye grinned at him, blew a kiss, and then she was gone, running towards the hangar and the mission waiting for her.

Left alone in the room with the four-month-old, Grant started gently rocking Haylie in his arms.

"It looks like today it's just you and me, baby girl. That sounds fun, right?"

As if to answer him, Haylie gnawed on her fist, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes," Grant chuckled.

* * *

Two hours later he was starting to get a little smug about how easily things were going – because he might have been taking his fair share of caring for Haylie, but it was the first time she was left to him with Skye being so far that he couldn't run to her if something was wrong, and he was intent on proving that he could do this, and without a hitch. Of course, Haylie was to his help in this, with having barely woken up ever since her mother had left.

They were lying in bed, him with his back propped against the headboard, a book in hand, while Haylie lay on his chest belly first, dozing lightly and letting out soft, little baby snores every now and then. Grant was sure that if Jemma (who had very determined ideas on childcare) could see him now, he would have gotten reprimanded for not letting Haylie sleep in her cradle – for Jemma was adamant on that it would make Haylie codependent and it would come back to bite them in the… butt (not that she didn't cuddle the baby to death), but honestly, he just couldn't care. He enjoyed having his baby close, feeling her sweet baby scent, and honestly, what harm a couple hours of daddy-time could do?

"We are a good team, aren't we, Haylie-belle?" he whispered, gently drawing little circles with the tip of his finger on Haylie's fist. The baby didn't even stir. "Mommy doesn't need to worry. And anyways, you like cuddling with daddy, don't you, hm?" Haylie hiccupped in her dream. "Exactly," he agreed, nodding with a smile on his face. "And it's not like we do this all the time – so Auntie Jemma can't complain either. There's no harm in sleeping with daddy every now and then, right, princess? Absolutely no harm."

(Really, it was more than "every now and then", counting all the time Haylie slept with either of them, but he just refused to care. If he wanted to take a nap with his daughter, then he did.)

That was the moment Haylie finally decided it was time to wake up – at first she just wrinkled her tiny nose, then pulled her barely-there-yet eyebrows together, then the next moment, basically with zero prelude, she opened her mouth and started crying.

(She was, generally, a calm baby – but if she wanted something, she wanted that in that exact moment. He was already a little bit afraid what this would mean in the future.)

Of course he knew this was coming sooner or later – she hadn't eaten since before Skye had left, so she was prone to get hungry soon, anyways. Not even trying to get her back to sleep – it would have been useless –, Grant simply put his book down, then, holding the baby securely to his chest, he stood up. Putting Haylie down in her crib for a moment, he slipped her shawl-like carrier over his shoulder (despite having all the colors of the rainbow, that thing was really useful), eased the baby into the sling, and left the room.

Thankfully, the soft, rocking movements of his steps calmed the little girl a bit, so by the time they got to the kitchen, she was only hiccupping softly, demanding food this way, instead of crying at full volume (he appreciated her thoughtfulness).

They had thought about trying to get her to a mixed formula-breast milk diet, and get started on some solids – they already had had a more-or-less successful trial run with some applesauce the day before –, now that Skye was getting back into the field, her Inhuman project starting off, to make things easier for everybody – because thankfully, there were a lot of volunteers to look after Haylie would both of her parents be preoccupied for the time being –, but so far it's been just a plan, so now he didn't really have many options.

"I know, I know," he murmured, rubbing Haylie's back as he opened the fridge door and took out the bottle of breast milk they kept there for incidents like this. "I know that you are hungry, and I'll feed you in a moment, baby girl, I promise," he kept talking while preparing her bottle, hoping that his voice would calm her a bit. "And yeah, I know it's not as good as the real thing – I think that food's not as good after being microwaved as before, too." Leaning down a bit, he pressed a kiss against the crown of her head, and whispered the next bit to her, "and I agree, everything is better when mommy's boobs are involved, too."

Her meal finally ready, Grant sat down by the counter, and offered the bottle to Haylie. She sniffed at it uncertainly at first, not really trusting it, but then hunger won, and she latched on, happily sucking the milk, making little gurgling sounds as she ate.

"Now this, this you get from your mommy," Grant mused, watching Haylie eat. "She can wolf down a meal just like that. But you didn't hear this from me. And you know what? Your Uncle Fitz's just like that, too. And he gets grumpy when he's hungry – just like you, only even grumpier. Have I told you about that one time–" He stopped suddenly, hearing soft footsteps from behind him. He turned around.

"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt," Coulson apologized with a careful smile on his face, walking closer. "I was just looking for… Oh, hello there," he said, going from professional to full grandpa mode in less than a second as he reached them. "Were you hungry, baby girl?" Coulson cooed, bending at the waist and taking Haylie's hand.

Grant chuckled to himself at the director's antics – Coulson could be the picture of professionalism, but this picture shattered a moment he got to his honorary granddaughter's vicinity.

"Yeah, and she was getting really upset about it," Grant said, shifting the baby in his arms. "And you were saying…?"

"Oh, um, yes." Coulson cleared his throat and stood up straight, but didn't pull his finger from Haylie's grasp. "I was looking for you, actually – got word from Mack, and if everything goes well, they are bringing in an Inhuman, so the containment room needs to be checked. I wouldn't bother you, but–" he stopped, clearing his throat again. "Anyways, I'd gladly look after Haylie while you are take care of it."

Which actually meant that Coulson wanted some grandpa-time, and Grant was okay with that (after all, Jemma once said that he and Skye "can't just monopolize Haylie," which was only a touch absurd).

"Alright," Grant said, slowly standing up, momentarily pulling the bottle from Haylie's mouth, making her fuss a little. "I'll do it – but I want my baby back in one piece, grandpa," he teased, carefully handing Haylie over to Coulson.

"In one piece, happy and full," Coulson promised, not even looking at him, but at Haylie, as the little girl reclaimed her bottle and continued eating, looking up at her grandfather with big, round eyes.

Grant just chuckled to himself, then left the kitchen, leaving his daughter and the cooing Coulson behind.

* * *

Checking everything he needed to actually took nearly an hour – this part of the base was newly built, as they expected an influx of newly turned Inhumans, only they hadn't had the chance to use it yet, so there were a number of checks he had to make before welcoming their first "guest" –, although, to be fair, he wasn't really in a hurry, either. He trusted Coulson, he knew how much the older man loved his baby girl, even how much he needed Haylie to destress a little, and if it meant that Grant got away from some burping and a nappy change, well, then he wasn't going to complain.

Only, when he finished with his task, Grant had to face the fact that Haylie wasn't with Coulson anymore – but at least he got some warning of this, even if only in the form of a text message.

 _Had to take an urgent call, left Haylie with FitzSimmons in the lab_ , that was all that Coulson's message said, and while it was obviously written to save him from worrying, it was more than enough to make Grant sweat a little.

Haylie and the lab didn't mix, it was a well-established fact – her being there made Skye and him worry because of the possibly dangerous materials kept there, and Fitz and Simmons stressed because the baby might compromise their pristine workplace (not to mention that Haylie didn't like that place very much, either), so they had this mutual understanding to keep her out of there. An understanding Coulson must have forgotten about in his haste to take that urgent call.

Trying not to get too worked up before there was an actual reason to – after all, FitzSimmons could have been handling the situation beautifully –, Grant quickened his steps, and hurried towards the lab.

He was still a corner away from the lab, when he could already hear that everything was not, in fact, going as beautifully as he had hoped.

Haylie's distressed cries could be heard from a good twenty feet from the lab door, and the sight that welcomed him when he walked through the door wasn't much better either – only Fitz and Simmons were in the room (a minor blessing), standing by the desk that housed the engineer's main computer. Jemma had Haylie, holding the wailing baby to her chest, trying to calm her down with gentle rocking, while Leo stood by her, making silly faces and waving a stuffed toy in front of her in hopes of making Haylie stop crying. He wasn't succeeding.

Jemma was the first to spot him.

"Grant!" she let out a relieved sigh. "Thank God you're here!" And with that, without any further preamble, she pushed the baby into his arms. "We really can't figure out what's wrong with her. Coulson said she'd just eaten–"

"And she was burped," Fitz joined in.

"And her nappy changed–"

"And we tried to entertain her–"

"But she just keeps on crying," Jemma concluded as he pulled the baby closer, carefully rocking her, but she just kept on crying, even if a little quitter now, in her father's arms. "So you are our last chance," she said, pulling her eyebrows together in worry. "Or you think maybe she got sick? I mean, her temperature seems normal, but maybe I should take some blood, and–"

"No, it's okay," Grant cut in before Jemma could have gotten carried away. (The thought of poking his baby with needles made him cringe.) "I'm sure she's okay, it's just…" he shifted the baby in his arms, holding her a little higher "…she's just being a little grumpy. Maybe missing mommy."

Jemma's gaze softened right away.

"Oh, that poor little dear…" she came half a step closer, and rubbed Haylie's back, whose cries had calmed down to quiet, hiccupping sobs by then. "But she's not far out by now, right?" she asked, looking up at Grant.

"I just checked before I came down – they are still securing the Inhuman, so it's going to be a couple more hours before she gets back," he answered with a little strain in his voice. Now he was starting to feel why Skye had been apprehensive about leaving, even if only for a couple of hours – as confident as he had been in the beginning, now he really wanted Skye to be there, because some maybe slightly irrational part of him was sure she could make Haylie smile in a fraction of a second. But in her absence, he had to do his best. "Anyways, thank you, guys, I'll take it from here."

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Fitz asked, stepping forward. "I don't have anything pressing, I have time. And I've looked up that baby massage I told you about the other day, maybe we should try that," he said, speaking a little faster with every word. Grant couldn't help smiling at his enthusiasm – the Scotsman had been completely devoted to Skye and his daughter ever since Skye had told him he'd be considered a honorary uncle. It was a title Fitz took really seriously.

"Thanks, Fitz, but no – we'll be fine, really. She is already a bit calmer." It was only half-true – albeit with a considerably lower volume by now, Haylie was still crying, demanding something, but she couldn't tell what (times like this Grant really wished she could talk already). "It'll be okay."

"Alright, but if you need something – you know where to find me."

"Us," Jemma corrected, placing her hand on Fitz's shoulder. "Find us. You know, if you need something."

Grant smiled fondly at them.

"Thank you, guys. I appreciate it." He looked briefly down at Haylie, and pressed a quick kiss against her head. "We'll be going now – don't want to be a bother. See you later."

And with that (but not before Fitz pushed the plush monkey he had been holding into his hand), Grant turned around and left the lab, hoping that away from the harsh lights, Haylie would calm down.

* * *

She didn't.

If anything, she started crying even harder when they got back to the lounge, desperately wanting something – something he would have loved to give her, had he only known what she wanted. In lieu of that, he tried something she generally liked, hoping that it would distract her enough to stop crying.

Haylie still in his arms, he lay down on one of the couches, resting his neck on the armrest, and pulling his legs up – then propping Haylie against his thighs, making her sit up. And it worked – surprised by the sudden change in position, she quietened at first, then blinked at him, confused, as if to ask, _what happened?_

"What's up, princess?" he chuckled. "It's not so bad, right?"

Haylie opened her mouth, as if to say something, then when he reached out and tickled her stomach, she giggled (she was giggling now; giggling and grinning and blowing spit bubbles and holding her head up. Every day brought something new, and he was equally amazed and scared by this), her crying fit long forgotten. He did it again.

"Oh, so you like that, hm? You like to be tickled?" he went on, continuing tickling her, which she didn't seem to get bored of. When he didn't have his hands on her, she kept grabbing after them, grasping his fingers and trying to pull him close, grinning all the way. He even thought about recording it – it was something he would have loved to show Skye, and really, anybody who stopped long enough (yeah, he had become one of those dads), but his phone was in his pocket, halfway under Haylie, and he wouldn't have had a good angle, anyway. So he just kept on playing with the little girl.

Soon, Haylie's eyes began to drop – as exciting playing was, she was getting tired again.

"Ready for a little nap, huh, love?" Grant asked softly when Haylie's eyelashes finally touched her cheeks and remained that way. "That's okay – little girls like you need their sleep." He gently shifted the baby until she was lying on his chest again (thankfully, she didn't even stir), her face pillowed on his chest. Funnily enough, Grant himself felt like catching some Z's would be nice. Well, nobody said he couldn't, right? "What do you say if I join you for that, huh?"

Haylie didn't answer, of course, but that was okay. He closed his eyes, too, and rubbing his daughter's tiny back, he soon fell asleep.

* * *

He was wakened by Haylie's warm weight being lifted from his chest. His old instincts kicked in right away, and he suddenly sat up straight, ready to fight whatever foe he might face.

"Easy there, cowboy, it's just me," Skye said, her voice lightly teasing. Although she had shed her gauntlets and jacket, she was still in her combat outfit; her hair was tousled, and she had a faint, smoky smell, mixed with something that reminded him of melted metal, but other than that, she seemed to be unscratched, which he noted with relief.

"Skye…" he said, almost involuntarily, her name ending in a yawn. She chuckled at him, shifting the still slumbering Haylie in her arms. "Everything went well on the mission?"

"Yeah," she answered, almost a bit too nonchalantly. "We had a little run-in with some unwanted individuals, but in the end, we got the guy. He's up in the containment room by now, most likely being calmed down. I'll have to go up to him, bring him up to speed, but I wanted to see you first. I missed you so much," she said, the last sentence being solely directed to Haylie, as she pressed a kiss against the baby's soft hair. "And here? Everything was okay while I was away?"

"Completely okay," he told her, a small, reassuring smile on his lips. "She was being a perfect lady, and we had a ton of fun," he went on, reaching out and taking Haylie's tiny hand between his fingers.

"So I can leave you two to your own devices other times, too?"

"Absolutely. Haylie would say the same, too, if she were awake," he added in a joking tone, making Skye grin.

"That's good to hear. But if I ask around… would _the others_ say the same?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

He swallowed.

"Mostly."

Skye laughed so loud, she woke up Haylie.


End file.
